Lost Souls Forever
by Luciddreamer326
Summary: Booth enlists some help with the search for Brennan’s parents. Will Bones refuse the outside help or find out a truth that breaks her?
1. Prologue

**Title**: Lost Souls Forever

**Plot**: Booth enlists some help with the search for Brennan's parents. Will Bones refuse the outside help or find out a truth that breaks her?

**Rating**: T...for now. Mostly for language.

**Spoilers**: The season finale, sort of. I am taking the general idea and reworking it my way before we learn the real truth.

**Disclaimer**: Nope, not mine. Meh. I don't even know why I write one of these anymore.

**Note**: Oh my, I am going to have to pump this one out quickly in order to get it done by the season finale. Good things school was over today. So! Get ready for some frenzied writing from me.

**Prologue **

Booth slid past people as he exited the elevator on the sixth floor of the Federal Building. At 10 a.m. in the morning, the place was more than alive, the smell of black coffee settling in ceramic mugs and the sticky sugar of donuts disappearing of licked fingers. Telephones rang, fingers pecked at keyboards, and papers shuffled on desks.

He scanned the office, eyes darting from desk to desk searching for a name plate with the identity of the person scribbled on the crumpled piece of paper in his hands. Finally, he found the desk but the person was no where to be found. No part of the desk was visible, papers stacked on the computer as well.

Booth frowned, brushing a hand through mess. A few papers flew off the desk and he grumbled as he bent over to pick them up. As he stood, he was met by a questioning pair of brown eyes.

"Not many people go through my stuff," she said with amusement. He features were young, skin smooth and an olive color. Her hair was mid length and hung straight. She was about 5'10 but her boots added about 3 inches.

"Anna Blake?" Booth questioned, handing her back the papers. She took them and chunked them idly back on her desk. Blake smiled and sat down in her chair.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out why an agent of your prestige is at my desk," she said.

"In madness there's genius they say," Booth sighed, still focused on the chaos that was her desk.

"Cute," Blake said sarcastically.

"Word is that you are the best missing person's agent we have," Booth started. The smile on her face faded, becoming serious.

"When it comes to the missing, I do my best," Blake told him.

"But you've been in some trouble."

"Who hasn't?" she frowned.

"Normally people don't piss everyone off after only seven months. You are still on what we call the 'ass kissing period'."

"First off, I kiss no one's behind," she began. She stopped quickly, eyes roaming over him for a moment. "Although you are kind of cute." Her eyebrow raised a bit as she leaned back in her chair. "Second of all, did you need something?"

"I need your help."

"That's what partners are for and I work alone. Besides, it's pretty well known that you are working with Temperance Brennan," Blake said, shrugging him off.

"You know her?"

"Come on, Brennan has one of the biggest reputations in D.C. Who doesn't know of her? And yeah, I kind of saw her a few times." Blake stood, spotting the folder tucked deeply under Booth's arm. Extending her hand, she rippled her fingers asking for the file.

Booth handed it to her and crossed his arms across his chest. Her hand swiped over the cover and flipped it open, eyes growing wide.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"I'll see what I can come up with. I'll be in touch if I find anything," Blake nodded, tucking the file under her arm.

"Don't you need my number?"

"They hand it out in the break room. You are a hot commodity around here I'm told. We'll see I guess," she smiled as she took a sip of her coffee. Blake extended a hand out and Booth grasped it.

"Good day Agent Booth."

"Yeah, you too Blake."

He watched as she walked away, feeling his nerves fray and burst. His emotions stood on edge as he glanced around the office. Maybe this visit was worth the hassle he had been given if Blake could find something, anything about what had happened to Brennan's family.


	2. Keeping Secrets

_**Chapter 1**_

**3 weeks later**

**Jeffersonian Institute **

**1:13 p.m.**

"Zach, clean these bones for me will you? We need to be quick about this. Goodman is putting pressure on me to see whether this is the professor's missing daughter," Brennan said with a sigh.

Zach nodded, shaggy brown hair moving with the head gesture. Her back was turned to the entrance of the lab, not able to see who came and went. Brennan heard the scanner beep, indicating he was there. Her heart fluttered but she tried to play it off.

"So how's the squint squad," Booth asked, leaning against the gurney Brennan was working at. She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, maneuvering him away from her workspace and into a corner.

"You seem chipper," Brennan observed. "Usually you aren't one to be in close proximity to dead bodies."

"Geez, yeah. Didn't really notice," he frowned. Brennan put down her microscope slide and stared at him intently. She watched him as his eyes darted around the lab, hands drumming on the metal railing he leaned against.

"I work with dead bodies Booth. It's sort of my thing," she said, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention. He brought his brown eyes back to her and she gave him a smile.

"Yeah, hi again. Why all of a sudden do you just _not_ notice?"

"Hum?"

"Seriously Booth. You've been acting weird for the last couple of weeks. What's up with you?"

While his antics were slightly amusing, she did not have the time to banter back and forth with him right now.

"Nothing Bones. Everything is just fine."

"You aren't such a great liar, remember?"

A noise sounded from his pocket and he withdrew his cell phone, punching the button to answer. Brennan straightened and put her hands on her hips, watching him as he talked.

He stopped to see her watching and drew inward. "Yeah, see you in a minute," he whispered.

Quickly, he stuffed the phone back down into his pocket and rubbed his hands together several times. Brennan tilted her head in a questioning gesture and he threw her another lopsided grin.

"Here are those sketches you asked for," Angela interrupted. Hodgins and Zach walked up behind her and stood. "Jack also found some…junk for you to take a look at."

Angela's vision traveled over to Booth and she threw him a smile. "Hey there Seeley," she grinned. He gave a small wave and crossed his legs, still leaning against the railing. Her vision darted past Booth to the doorway and she began to frown.

"Who's that?"

"Who's who?" Brennan said turning around.

As if by queue, everyone else did as well. They watched intently as a tall, young woman walked through the door. Booth immediately jumped up and offered his goodbye.

"Hey, see you guys later. Bye Bones," he said quickly touching her on the shoulder, and then ran off. His shoes hit the marble of the lab rapidly, running to meet the woman at the door. Her head was down looking at a file as she walked. As Booth rushed to her side, he spun her around, ushering her back outside.

"What the hell Booth?" Blake growled as she locked her feet up. Booth shoved her along anyway, with perfect ease.

"When you called, I thought we were meeting at the little café. I didn't know you were coming _here_." He kept shoving her and eventually she twisted out of his grasp, stopping just short of the sliding door.

She looked over to the platform, where four sets of eyes stared at her and Booth. Leaning in, she began to whisper.

"What's going on Booth? Really…"

"Look, I didn't tell Brennan about you. She isn't that…eager for outside help. I mean, it took her forever to let me even look at…"

Blake let out a small laugh and then a huff, blowing a strand of her brown hair back wildly.

"So that's why I had four pairs of eyes burning a hole in my back," she mumbled. "Hey look, this isn't the way I work. Victim's families come to me and ask me for help or I look for people Cullen tells me to. You have to make it alright with her before you just hand this off to me."

"She asked me to do this so…"

"Precisely. She trusts you Booth, which is why she gave this to you," Blake explained, shaking the file in front of him. She brought it down to her side and rolled her eyes.

"Look, I have done some digging and I think I have found something out. First, make it okay with her Booth. Then come to me." She handed the file back to him and he took it angrily.

Why did Booth feel as if he were fighting a losing battle? He could never get a word in edgewise with all of these women around. What was their thing about having the last say in something?

"Don't you think you ought to tell me what is going on before we lay this all on Brennan?"

Blake shifted her weight onto her left foot and looked at the ground. Booth saw her quickly glance in the direction of Brennan and the other squints.

"Someone needs to tell her. I'm not sure I want to be the one to do it though. Which is better to believe in Booth? 'Hey your parents were murdered and we have no idea where they are' or 'Hey, your parents abandoned you at fifteen years old, but were still alive a long time after that under fake names.' Neither one of those things is easy to say."

Booth's heart tensed and he began to sweat. His hands curled into little balls and he shoved them in his pockets. "Well which one is the truth?"

On the platform, the gang stood and watched Booth go back and forth with the mystery woman.

"Maybe it's his new girlfriend," Hodgins suggested.

"Oh my God, how scandalous would that be," Angela said with a head shake. She felt bad for her best friend, who stood with a pained look on her face. She could see the thought run through Brennan's mind and felt instantly sad.

"You never know. That could be what Booth has been up to these last few weeks, all the weird actions and such. Guys always go for the young ones," Hodgins smiled. Angela sent an elbow flying into his rib and he wheezed. "But I'm sure that isn't what's going on."

"I wonder what's _really_ going on" Zach mused. The three turned to Brennan who had a stern look on her face. Suddenly, she stripped the latex glove off her hand and threw it on the gurney.

"I don't know," Brennan announced. "But I aim to find out."


	3. Consent

_**Chapter 2**_

Brennan looked out the passenger side window and sighed heavily. She caught Booth looking at her out of the corner of her eye but didn't let on that she noticed. The whole trip had been taken in silence, neither of them speaking of the events that had occurred earlier. Idly, Brennan thought back to a few moments earlier.

_Could what her co-workers said be true? The thought ravaged her mind as she stared at Booth. She couldn't make her eyes move off of them, all the while, the painful ache in her chest becoming sharper._

_Separating the white latex from her flesh, she tossed it aside, not caring where it went at the moment. Her heels scraped across the floor and the blue fabric of her lab jacket flapped in the air. The woman was the first to acknowledge her, Booth's eyes following soon after._

_Brennan stopped and shoved her hands in her pockets. The silence was deafening, no surrounding party offering to be the first to speak. Booth shifted he weight and placed his hands on his hips._

"_Temperance Brennan, meet Special Agent Anna Blake. She's our missing person's specialist."_

_Blake stuck out her hand, a somber look chiseled in her young features. As Brennan grasped Blake's hand lightly, her heart sank into her stomach._

Watching the vehicles pass now in silence, Brennan felt uneasiness creep into her. She knew what this was about. If Booth had asked the agent to meet him, it only meant one thing.

"Temperance, you aren't mad, are you?"

It felt odd to hear the use of her first name. It had been reserved for intimate moments between the two of them. She resented its use now, fearing only impending sadness.

"I thought we agreed this was a you and me thing."

"It still is and always will be."

"You brought her into this."

"Look Bones. I know you resent this right now. But hell, she's the best damn agent we have for this type of thing."

"And what exactly _is_ this 'type of thing'."

Brennan watched as his knuckles faded from pink to white on the steering wheel. His shoulders tensed and he clenched his jaw.

"With your parents Bones. I wouldn't let just anyone in on this. She may be a bit rough around the edges but I have this feeling like maybe she can help you."

Brennan turned to face him fully, catching his look as he turned to face her. She didn't know what to say or how to act about any of this.

"Just hear her out," Booth requested. "Then decide."

**10 Minutes Later**

When they walked in the door, the smell of fresh bread and ground coffee wafted into Brennan's nose. Sitting to the back of the room, Blake sat staring out the window.

As they approached the table, Brennan noticed the tab of the file folder sticking out from Blake's fingers, her parents names faded in black type. Same folder only…fuller? Could it be?

Booth pulled out Brennan's chair, her blushing slightly as Blake watched. Booth made no deal out of it and took a seat next to Brennan. Blake scooted closer to the edge of the table, resting her elbows on the counter and clasping her fingers together.

"So uh, if you have any questions for me or anything, ask away," Blake said with a small smile.

Where did she start? So much ran through her mind, it seemed difficult to grasp a coherent thought. Straight to the fact rights?

"Why did you decide to take this case?"

"Booth approached me several weeks back. He asked me to take a look into the disappearance of your parents."

"So anyone can just walk up to you and request something such as this?"

"It's rare for an outside party not directly related to the missing to come forward with a request. Primarily, my job consists of dealing with the family itself."

Brennan nodded and pursed her lips, trying to formulate her next question.

"So why did you accept my case?"

"I was under the impression that Agent Booth had been given consent by you to approach me. When he informed me he had not done so, I asked for a meeting between us, to get your acceptation or rejection."

"I'm sorry. I just don't know what all to say."

Blake fidgeted in her chair and glanced out of the window.

"I understand this type of thing is hard, really. But, I will share something I have found out, regardless of your choice for help or not."

The sick feeling returned to the pit of Brennan's stomach as she glanced over to Booth, receiving a solemn look from him.

"What?" Brennan whispered.

'I've located your brother Russ," Blake returned, withdrawing a slip of paper. Tears began to form in Brennan's eyes. She had to look closely to see the name, address, and telephone number scribbled on the sheet.


	4. Wreckage

AN: Okay, so I didn't get this finished before the season finale. The stories are similar, but I create another story for the death of Brennan's mom and jumble things a bit. I also tried to incorporate some of the series. I hope this doesn't turn out to be crap and you enjoy.

**_Chapter 3_: Wreckage**

**Medico Legal Lab**

**Jeffersonian Institute**

**3:26 p.m.**

Brennan stared out into space, for once devoid of all thought. A knock on her door brought her blue eyes up from the paper clutched in her hand.

Seeing Booth in the opening, she tucked the slip under a stack of file folders. He walked in slowly, like a scared child afraid to approach her. He looked around for a few moments, and then spoke.

"I was going to check on you to see if you needed anything," he said quietly.

She shook her head lightly and sat back in her chair. Booth nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Okay. I just wanted to come by and tell you goodbye. I have a few days off. Cullen is making me take them," he said with a smile.

"I just finished up the paperwork from our last case. Everything should be alright."

"Well, I guess I will see you in a few days. Give me a call if you need anything, okay Bones?"

And with that, he closed her door behind him, leaving her to her thoughts again.

He had no intention of spending his time "lounging around" and enjoying the freedom of his demanded four days off from Cullen. Bones needed his help, and with Blake, he might be able to get to the bottom of this mystery.

Pulling the phone from his pocket, he punched numbers quickly as he left the coolness of the Jeffersonian. The hot D.C. air hit him in the face, burning the breaths that he inhaled into his nose and lungs.

"Blake."

"Hey, I need something from you," Booth told her. He heard a small whimper, and then she began to speak.

"You've given me enough work to keep me occupied until my retirement. What else could you _possibly_ need?"

"I need Russ Brennan's number and address."

Blake snorted quickly then said nothing for the next few moments.

"Why?" she questioned, skepticism pouring through her voice.

"Why do you think?" Booth grumbled back.

"I really can't give it to you. Sort of like…patient confidentiality."

"I'm an FBI Agent. That's sort of null and void on me."

"Damn you and your persuasiveness. We are able to get away with too much."

"So then you will give it to me?"

"With reluctance, yes. Brennan hates me, but regardless, I want to help the woman. I know what it's like to want answers and not have any."

Booth listened as Blake read of the information, scribbling the address and number down quickly.

"Booth, do me a favor before you traipse off and do something rash."

"Who me?"

"Yeah. I've noticed how protective you are of Brennan. Try to stay focused. Remain objective. And when she is yelling at you for speaking to her brother, don't pull my name out of your brain."

Booth laughed lightly and ended the call. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck, but he didn't have far to travel.

"North Carolina, here I come."

**Russ Brennan Residence**

The neighborhood was less than to be desired. So was his home. Upon pulling up in the driveway, Booth noticed the house screamed "bachelor pad." A rundown car sat tucked under a makeshift garage. Stepping up on the cement steps, Booth let his fist collide with the door. It swung open a few moments later, a man coming to stand in the doorway.

"Russ Brennan?" Booth asked as he flashed him the badge.

"Another cop," the guy frowned. "It never ends."

Booth threw him a questioning look and the guy smiled.

"What is this about?"

"It's about your sister and the rest of your family."

"What about them?"

"Do you remember anything before your parents vanished? Say, a few weeks before or leading up to."

"Nope," Russ replied simply.

Booth waited for something more, but nothing came out of him. After only five minutes, he wanted to choke the guy. His eyes held the green tint that Brennan's did, hair dark brown and he was about the same height.

"You either help me out willingly now or I drag it out of you later, k buddy?" Booth growled, running a hand through his hair.

Russ' jaw bunched up as he glared at Booth.

"I remember mom saying she was working a tough case. She'd come home late and night and cry sometimes. One night as I walked by her bedroom, I heard her tell dad she was scared."

"Of what?"

Russ let a smug look cover his face.

"I'm not too sure since I wasn't actually part of the conversation."

"Where did you go right after your parents vanished?"

"Went to work. Left that God forsaken town. Tempe was going to live with Gramps or something."

"She ended up in a foster home," Booth said through gritted teeth.

"Damn, tough luck huh?" Russ said, taking a sip of coke.

"Tough luck? Tough luck? Brennan still hasn't completely gotten over that. It sticks with her every day. And here you are, nonchalantly not caring!" Booth yelled.

"Truth be told, it sounds like she is doing better than me! A best selling book, a nice fancy job in D.C. Or maybe you haven't noticed where I ended up," Russ spat. "Tempe is strong. She always was. She made it. That is enough, isn't it?"

"She grew up without the love of her family and missed out on being a kid," Booth spewed back.

"Maybe she is better off for getting her shit together. I don't have FBI Agents running around and doing my bidding for me," he mused.

"I'm here on my own. Just stay in place. You run, I hunt you down," Booth pointed.

"Wouldn't think of it," Russ said with a sarcastic smile.

"Yeah right," Booth grumbled, putting his shades on.

At least he had a place to start now. He would go to Bone's mother's firm and get the last case she had been on. There was still nothing on the father, but something had to come of this.


	5. Discovery

Chapter 4: Discovery

**18 hours later**

After a fresh shave and shower, along with a small nap, Booth felt rejuvenated and ready to go. Blake's feet shuffled beside him, long legs keeping up surprisingly well with his fast pace.

"Where's the fire?" Blake questioned.

"You know that feeling, when you get a lead?"

"Yeah. Look, it's your day off and I have been working nonstop, so if like only for my sake, can we slow down?"

Booth slowed and a small smile spread across his face.

"Okay for you?"

"Yeah. So now that I can breathe again without wheezing, why must I accompany you?"

"I had Cullen assign you full time," Booth answered.

"What?" Blake yelled. Slowing to a stop, she began to talk in a lower tone. "Damnitt Booth! I do missing person's cases. I have a feeling this is something entirely different."

"Woman's intuition?"

"I'm serious. This one is shady. Just from the digging I have done, I've hit some major road blocks. I can't get access to anything, even with FBI access."

Arriving at the desk, a blonde looked up from her computer and smiled at Booth. He leaned against the cabinet, elbows resting on the top. He flashed her a smile and the woman blushed.

"Oh geez," Blake muttered as she watched. "Here we go again."

**5 minutes later**

"It's like hypnosis or a trance or something!" Blake exclaimed in disbelief. Glancing over at Booth, she saw another smile spread across his face.

"Even though I have been trying to get that file for a week now, don't get cocky," she mumbled.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Women, they like that tall, dark, and handsome thing you have going on. And when you flash them that smile, they are gone."

He sent a grin over her way and she laughed.

"I am immune to your charm."

"And every other woman isn't?"

"You wear a suit and tie, keep a nice and clean appearance. Women are used to ending up with t-shirt and jeans men who scratch themselves in public and fall asleep during sex," Blake explained as she walked. "You are every woman's dream who used to fall asleep at night and hope one day a prince would rescue them. You are the angel Gabriel to every other man's Pigpen."

"But not to you."

"It's a _tactic_. I see through that. You get what you want based on your charm. I see you guys walk around every day at the Bureau. I am used to it. Why are you all into what I think anyway?"

"None of you woman can decide what you like. That woman back there liked me for some reason you do not. It's always something different. You are impossible to please."

"Spoken in the true words of a bachelor there. You are doomed to a life alone."

"So Zach sees through all of that"

"Why are you driving this in the ground? You act like you feel nothing towards Brennan, but it is obvious."

"What? No, I'm just helping her."

"Yeah, right."

"Leave her and I out of this. At least in the romantic sense."

"And you leave Zach out of this. I have seen him all of one time and talked to him a handful of times more. Nothing is there. Now can we get back to the case?"

Booth nodded and opened up the case file. Blake scooted closer to him to get a good look at the information.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Alexander Krieg."

"Doctor busted for malpractice. Supposed ties to the mob, getting hacked parts from hits. This is way high profile. I didn't know Brennan's mom worked on this."

"I hate past tense."

"English lessons from a man who thinks 'A river is just a river.'"

He shot her a look, then said nothing for the next few minutes. Blake could see the mental clogs working in his brain as he looked at the information.

"Dig up what you can on Krieg," Booth said handing her the file.

"What? Wait, why? Where are you going?"

"To beat out of the good doctor who he was working with."

**Medico-Legal Lab**

**Jeffersonian Institute**

**2:25 p.m.**

"Clean the bones Zach. I need them done as quickly as possible," Brennan ordered.

The young man nodded, strapping a pair of latex gloves on. She pulled off her own as Angela approached.

"Where's Booth," Angela asked, amusement filling her voice.

"With his partner I guess," Brennan retorted.

"They've been spending a lot of time together."

"Booth has been looking into my parent's case. The new partner thing is only temporary."

"Let's hope right?"

"Why?"

"Oh come on Sweetie. I see you keep gazing toward the door. He isn't coming."

"What? That's ridiculous. I do not."

Angela leaned against the door frame of Brennan's office as Brennan took a seat at her desk.

"Your denial is astounding," Angela smiled. Closing the door, she followed Brennan's path, choosing an empty spot on the edge of the desk. She placed a hand on Brennan's shoulder and gave her a concerned look.

"You can tell me anything Brennan. What's going on with you two?"

"Nothing," Brennan sighed. "Sadly."

Angela threw her another look, begging for an explanation.

"Promise not to say anything Angela? It could jeopardize things."

"Scout's honor."

"I try to play it off that I don't really care about Booth. But I find myself having this weird feeling inside of me that I can't explain. It's distracting and I don't like it."

"It's okay to admit you might feel something."

"There is something there. I am just not exactly sure what."

"Maybe a deep affection and blooming love?"

"I'll work through it. But I don't think it is love."

"Come on Brennan!" Angela urged.

"What do you want me to say? That I can't do my work properly sometimes? That when he is away, I lie awake at night and worry about his safety?"

"Why not? Try to enjoy your life."

"My work comes before my personal life, always."

"It gets old."

"I will always have work. How long will I have a man? The security…"

"Is never guaranteed. For once, just take a leap. Do something you wouldn't normally do. You might surprise yourself."

A knock on the door sounded, Booth's head peeking in a few moments later. Brennan straightened and stood quickly.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he countered. Looking over at Angela, he gave her a small smile. "Can I have a minute with Bones?"

"Sure," she said with a smug smile.

Booth moved from the door, letting Angela pass. After an "Oh my God" spread across Angela's face as she exited, Brennan became nervous. Booth entered the office, a man following behind him.

"What is he doing here?" Brennan breathed.

Russ stood silent, green eyes fixed on her. Stubble traced his cheeks and his brown hair looked ruffled. Fifteen years, yet something still looked childish about him.

"Blake dug up some stuff, including your brother's location as you know. I went to visit him and questioned him about some things,' Booth explained.

"About what? What have you found?"

"Something about your mother doesn't add up. She worked as a lawyer but was struggling for a while. Suddenly, she lands the Krieg case, the case of the century, and money starts pouring in. She opens an account and adds to it for six months," Booth began.

"How much are we talking about?" Brennan queried.

"Four hundred thousand."

"Shit," Russ choked out.

"Yeah. That isn't all," Booth sighed.


	6. The Body in the Locker

**Chapter 5**: The Body in the Locker

**2 hours earlier**

The noise of steel grating against steel filled Booth's ears. The gate buzzed and Alexander Krieg trudged in, hands held out in front of him. Booth rounded the interrogation table, motioning for Krieg to sit.

"I pass," Krieg spit out.

"We could be here a while," Booth smiled sarcastically.

Reluctantly, Krieg sat, plopping down in his seat. The chains on his feet drug across the floor, making a clinking sound. Booth opened the folder and started to browse the files.

"Extortion, mob affiliation, black market body parts, malpractice. Geez, where do I begin?" Booth said, playing the part by hyping up the disbelief factor. "Do I add murder to that?"

"I never killed anyone on my table."

"What about off the table, huh? In that shady world you lived in?"

"I want a lawyer if we are going to do this."

"Well you killed your last one didn't you?" Booth said, watching the anger spread across Krieg's face.

"Wow, you will stop at nothing to make you feel all macho."

"I know you killed Christine Brennan," Booth growled in a whisper.

"Prove it," Krieg smiled with amusement.

Booth's jaw clenched and he backed away. Right now, he couldn't. After looking at Christine's file, all he had was the who, not the motive and proof he needed to tie Krieg to the murder. He had nothing and Krieg knew it.

"I thought so," Krieg laughed. "Then we are done. Guards!"

Booth watched as he walked away, silently banging his own head against the wall. His phone sounded, shattering all of his thoughts.

"Booth," he answered.

"You need to get over here quick. I've done something really stupid."

Booth listened as the voice on the phone gave a quick rundown to him.

"I'm going to strangle you Blake!"

**Quantico Medical Labs**

"I can't believe you got him to sign the papers!" Booth yelled.

Blake watched as Booth paced the floor. Glancing above his head, her eyes watched the minute hand move again. Twenty minutes and counting. He had been screaming at her since he had arrived. Maybe she deserved it.

Moving her eyes to the exhumation request, she stared silently at Russ Brennan's signature and the judge's. Grabbing another document, she moved to the overhead projector and turned it on. She turned off the light and a faint glow filled the room.

Booth kept talking, but not a lot of it registered with her. Something about talking to Cullen, write up and censure, on and on. Nothing new about any of it. It had all been said before. Grabbing a marker, she began to speak.

"Slow down Paco and listen. This is the basic schematic of what an autopsy report looks like upon completion. This..." she said adding a slide "Is the basic protocol and procedure for every autopsy performed by an ME."

They both stared in unison at the list, looking at the notes scribbled in the margin on the projector. She handed him a paper, his eyes questioning her after taking a look.

"That is the example of proper autopsy procedure as I stated. It's thorough and detailed. Here is Christine Brennan's."

Booth looked at the sheet. Parts of it had been pieced together, making it look more like a ransom letter than a report.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"Someone went to a lot of trouble to make that look like an official report. It's fake though."

"What?"

"There was never an autopsy done on Brennan's mother. Morris Cavanaugh, the ME that signed this, was later brought forth on faulty work. He was paid off by Krieg, which is half of the reason why both men are in jail right now."

"So where did you get this again?"

"Max Brennan."

"What the hell?"

"Daddy's been in Maine trading stock online. Only now he is Jacob Holmes."

"Witness protection?"

"Yeah. He suspected foul play with his wife and became suspicious, so he went underground so to speak. Russ and Temperance were pulled apart to protect them."

"This is too much at one time."

"There's more," Blake sighed.

Booth winced as she pulled open the locker that she had been standing by, revealing a human skeleton.

"Meet Christine Brennan, I think," Blake announced.

"Shit, you think?"

"No autopsy has been done!"

"I'm not an expert on this stuff, but isn't there supposed to be skin and stuff?"

"Yeah, someone really screwed it up for us. Or so they thought."

"How are we going to determine cause of death now?"

"You have learned nothing from the year you have been working with Brennan, have you? The woman is a miracle worker. She will find something. I know it."

"I can't take this to her!"

Both agents stood silently for a few moments. Booth looked sideways to the body and sighed. Placing his hands on the sides of the gurney, he pushed the bones back into the locker. _Not just bones_, Booth thought. _This is Brennan's mother_.

"So what do we do now?" Blake asked. Booth said nothing, instead just stared at the floor.

"Why did you exhume her?" he finally said.

"I thought we get one of our people to take a look at her, see if they can determine the cause of death," she finished.

Booth let out a sarcastic laugh and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Always the one with answers eh?"

"Oh right!" Blake exclaimed. "You've forgotten that we have a division like that. We are sort of a jack of all trades, us FBI folk."

"I guess you could say the turnover rate isn't as good. Or as quick."

"What? You mean the time it takes for them to finish a case or for you to get into Brennan's pants?"

"Take that back! I told you to never say anything like that about her again!"

"I'm all for helping people Booth, but you've turned this into a crusade. And you are dragging me along too."

"You are the one running around digging up bodies and talking to people's vanished fathers. Then you walk in here and insult me about Brennan."

"I _did_ all of this to help you, and Brennan, as hard as that may be to believe."

"I'm pulling you off of this," Booth said angrily.

"Yeah and pulling rank that you don't have. Don't worry, I quit," Blake growled.

She threw her pen on the ground and kicked a medical table out of the way. Adolescent b.s. Booth watched her storm out of the room and disappear. He groaned to himself and rubbed his face. Now how was he going to take care of all of this?


End file.
